Being a passionate and versatile chamber musician, Bård Monsen is
involved in a large number of musical ventures. He has directed
ensembles such as the Trondheim Soloists and Oslo Camerata and has
regularly appeared as concert master in both ensembles as well as in
Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, Tromsø Symphony Orchestra and
Telemark Chamber Orchestra. He is a current member of the Norwegian
Chamber Orchestra.
Together with pianist Gunnar Flagstad, he recorded the album
“Interactions” on the award-winning label 2L in 2017. The album contains
20th century duos by Valen, Stravinsky and Lutoslawski, and was praised
by Gramophone magazine as “truly immersive”.
He has, with Henning Kraggerud, recorded Ysaÿe’s Sonata for two violins
on Naxos, a critically acclaimed recording that was nominated for a
Norwegian Grammy.
As a chamber musician, he has collaborated with artists such as Bruno
Giuranna, Paul Cortese, Yejin Gil, Truls Mørk, Francis Gouton, Eszter
Haffner, Priya Mitchell, Jan Bjøranger and Andreas Sundén. He has
performed in festivals like Oxford Chamber Music Festival, Virtuoso &
Belcanto Festival, Oslo Chamber Music Festival and Stavanger Chamber
Music Festival.
Bård is one of the leading Norwegian violin teachers of his generation,
and his teaching has taken him to several European countries. Over the
years, he has worked with some of the most prominent students and
young talents in Norway, including a number of prize winners of
international competitions. He is currently working as Head of Chamber
Music and Head of Strings at Barratt Due Institute of Music.
He plays on a violin made by Enrico Rocca, generously on loan from Mr.
Malcolm Bruno.
His teachers include Alf Richard Kraggerud, Geir Inge Lotsberg and
Stephan Barratt-Due at the Barratt Due Institute of Music. He also studied
with Mauricio Fuks at Indiana University, where he served as a teaching
assistant to Mr. Fuks.
Photo: Peter Adamik